Against all odds (and some might say better judgment) Sony Pictures is making a Venom film without a single mention of everyone’s favourite wallcrawler. But before I continue I just want to say-are you all out of your minds? Who thought this was a good idea?! I get it that you don’t want to play nice with Disney but damn this is insane. Okay, I got that off my chest. This is the reality of the situation. The die is cast. Manic power plays aside, a Venom centred franchise without Spiderman could work, emphasis on COULD mind you. The studio would need to buckle down and do their homework on how they’d map out future instalments after Venom. So we decided to land them a helping hand by recommending a few possible story arcs that we feel would make would make for great cinematic adaptations. Ones that don’t really have or really need you-know-who in it. So dust off your Borders card and hide you Tom Holland posters because here are five comic book story arcs that Venom films should definitely consider using.
1. Amazing Spider-Man#344-355 (1991)+Venom Vs Carnage (2004)
We already know the first film will be loosely based on two story arcs: Venom: Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes. It’ll also see Brock pitted against at least four different symbiote host including Riz Ahmed’s Riot but Sony would be remiss if they failed to have the next film include Carnage. In an Amazing Spider-Man issue, it is revealed that Eddie’s symbiote is actually pregnant and releases another entity that so happens to bond to his cellmate at the time. That cellmate just so happens to be the murdering psychopath, Cletus Kasady who takes on the mantle of the blood-dyed Carnage. Eddie breaks out of prison without knowing that he’s just created a monster. Now mix that storyline with 2004’s Venom Vs Carnage and we’ve got ourselves a winner here.
How would they fit you might ask? Well, we only need a small fragment of Amazing Spider-Man where Eddie meets Kasady in prison. Given the fact that Venom’s a bit of an anti-hero it’s no surprise that he’d end up in jail sometime without having to involve Spiderman. Then the rest of the storyline will adapt from 2004’s Venom Vs Carnage which sees Carnage also pregnant, giving birth to a new symbiote called Toxin. The stage is set, Venom feels responsible for creating Carnage and now it’s up to him to defeat the mad symbiote. Meanwhile, the Toxin symbiote attaches itself to a local cop who’s scared and confused about his new powers. Carnage tempts Toxin into doing evil while Venom tries to get him to fight on the side of good. Can Venom prove that he can be more than just a vengeful vigilante or is he just one bad day from being Carnage? Can he find redemption by showing Toxin the light? Find out in Venom: Family Affair (it’s a working title). It’s got drama, character development and a lot of R-rated action. I even have the perfect guy to play Carnage, Mr Matthew Mcconaughey.
2. Venom: License to Kill (1997)
Another route that Sony could go with Venom if they’re tired of throwing the rest of his symbiote cousins on screen would be the grounded approach. In Venom: License to Kill, we see neither a hair or web of the wallcrawler. Hell, we don’t see anyone else we recognize besides Venom here! In the limited series, we see Venom become a government agent sent on a task to take down national threats like bio-terrorist and supervillains. Venom agrees to cooperate with the government as a special operative in exchange for a clean slate. He pretty much becomes a one-man Suicide Squad! Granted License to Kill is more on the tacky side with Venom talking smack and dealing with a team of Charlie’s Angels knockoff and at some point, he’s fighting communist robots!
Sony doesn’t necessarily have to adhere 100% to the plot of License to Kill but they can take the best elements of it and make it work. Instead of Venom fighting Russian communists, he could face down with another terrorist organization that just so happens to have sexy robots and plans for world domination. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be out of step with the tone that the current Venom film is going for: gritty with a slight comedic edge to it. I mean a character who says “like a turd in the wind” isn’t exactly someone who takes himself too seriously. In fact, you could even hint that the terrorists are funded by Oscorp, Norman Osborn’s company. There hasn’t been any mention of Osborn or Green Goblin in the MCU yet so Oscorp is still up for grabs. It could work as a standalone film and maybe even a sequel to the Venom Vs Carnage film pitched before (just saying). It would also go well with the next entry on this list.
3.Agent Venom (2011)
The Venom film as of now seems to be painting itself an image as dark, action-packed with just a touch of self-aware humour. I mean for goodness sake the tagline for the trailer is “release your inner anti-hero”. Come on! That’s a little on the nose don’t you think? One thing I did notice was missing in the trailer was heart. I mean as cool and intimidating as Venom is, there’s actually quite a lot of depth to the character especially when the mantle was taken up in 2011 in comics by Parker’s bully, Eugene “Flash” Thompson. After high school, Thompson aspired to a hero in every sense of the word, enlisting in the military and fighting in the Iraq War. During his tour, he had lost his legs while saving a fellow soldier. His valour, however, did not go unnoticed and he agreed to be part of an experiment to bond him to the Venom symbiote. Fighting for freedom and justice, Eugene Thompson is Agent Venom.
Thompsons’ backstory is equal parts tragic and inspiring. Growing up in an abusive home, he took out his anger on his peers in school. Peter being his main target but that’s irrelevant now. He, however, finds the courage to break free from his pain and to make something of himself. But it’s not just Thompson as well. Throughout the Agent Venom story arcs, we see the Venom symbiote strive to exemplify what it means to be a hero. Together, the both of them would form a bond that would see them against supervillains the likes of Kraven, Jack O’ Lantern and Doctor Octopus. Villains that just so happen to also be in Sony’s hands. They even took on the forces of Hell together! It’s not uncommon for symbiotes to have multiple hosts so somewhere down the line, they could have Eddie walk away from the life as Venom and transition over to Thompson playing host to it. In a few years, people are gonna get tired of the whole dark anti-hero spiel. Bring back those old-school hero values, make Venom great by making him good!
4. Venom: Space Knight (2015-2016)
You can’t get any farther away from Spiderman than the deep vacuum of space. The Avengers isn’t the only one that has taken on Marvel’s cosmic landscape. In 2015, we saw Agent Venom take to space to discover the true origins of the symbiote alien race, the Klyntar. It is revealed that the Klyntar are actually a race of benevolent creatures that seek out the noblest warriors in the universe and empower them. Unfortunately, so many of the Klyntar that bond to their host get corrupted by their darker emotions and become feral. Thompson, however, has managed to overcome his darker impulses and redeemed the Venom symbiote. In turn, the hive mind of the Klyntar purifies Venom and now together as one, they are Venom, Agent of the Cosmos. He joins up with a team of other symbiote-powered hosts of different races and goes around the galaxy keeping the peace and standing up for the weak and defenceless.
I don’t know about you guys but a team of symbiote warriors roaming the universe, fighting space pirates and hostile alien invaders sound like a lot of fun to me. Furthermore, this could be a great opportunity to show Disney that Sony can beat them at their own game. Guardians of the Galaxy who? In fact, at some point the Agents of the Cosmos find themselves battling with a pretentious Guardians wannabe group called the Space Knights. And while properties like the Infinity Gauntlet, Skrulls and Asgard are outside of Sony’s peripheral, they pretty much have free rein to create their own original Venomverse canon on how their world functions. If they want to be ambitious (even if not wholly original), there could be a Klyntar civil war between the corrupted and the pure ones. There are so many directions they could go with intergalactic Venom. If the films go this route, the stars the limit.
5. Venom (2018)- Knull, The God of the Symbiotes
Though a recent development, the latest issue of Venom is shaping to be one heck of a run! Picture it with me Sony, you guys just finished your films revolving around the Venom: Space Knight series. It’s established that the symbiotes or Klyntar species are actually a force for good in the galaxy and that they were corrupted by their hosts. Your audience was totally invested in Flash Thompson as Venom and he dies so Venom returns to its original host, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock. They’re excited to see the franchise returning to its roots but wait a minute…everything they know and love about the Venomverse is about to be turned on its head! It is revealed that the Klyntar aren’t benevolent warriors but living weapons of a primordial god of darkness that has existed since the beginning of creation.
In 2018’s Venom story arc, we see the true origins of the Kylntar and that shit is biblical. In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and in that darkness was the Lord of the Abyss, Knull. Then suddenly Celestials and gods began invading into his kingdom and bringing the light of creation. In retaliation, Knull created the symbiote to be a weapon to destroy them and to slaughter all life in the universe. The symbiote however turned against their master and imprisoned him in a living planet, covering up the truth with a noble lie. But now Knull is breaking free…and god is coming. This would make for one badass finale to the franchise. In spite of Miles Morales’ Spiderman and Thor playing minor roles in the comic series, ultimately its all about Venom and his dark origins. They could easily be omitted to make way for Venom to face his literal maker! This could open up the Venomverse to a whole new frontier and it has the potential to propel into Infinity War level scale. This is also franchise finale material right here!
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